


burritos and emos

by squishyserpent



Category: Naruto
Genre: Everyone’s gay, M/M, my way my way or the highway
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:35:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24625588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squishyserpent/pseuds/squishyserpent
Summary: sasuke works at newbury comics with gaara, simply trying to save up as much money as he can before he goes off to college in a few months. he has no desire to do anything else that summer; that is, until he meets naruto, who works at the new burrito stand that opened up in the food court.
Relationships: Gaara/Rock Lee, Haruno Sakura/Yamanaka Ino, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 27
Kudos: 98





	1. tortillas

**Author's Note:**

> before i begin i’d like to thank everyone on my twitter who encouraged me to write this! i brought up this au on a whim and everyone seemed excited about it, so this is for you guys!

Sasuke had been working at Newbury Comics with Gaara for almost 6 months, and if there’s one thing he’s learned, it’s that stores near the food court get the most annoying customers. May it be clusters of screeching middle school girls, or brooding college students lingering in the store, Sasuke hated the food court crowd. Why couldn’t the store be near the entrance of the mall, with sleepy jewelers and empty restaurants? He could probably have a peaceful shift if that were the case.

Sasuke busied himself at work, avoiding dealing with shoppers at any cost. He sorted overpriced vinyls and DVDs, folded the outrageously overpriced shirts, and kept every figurine, comic, and poster in proper order. Whenever an especially troublesome group of people entered, Gaara and Sasuke would exchange a knowing look of true anguish.

The only positive of Newbury Comics being so close to the food court was that Sasuke could pop over for a bite to eat after work. He and Gaara would normally drink something from Jamba Juice or buy pretzels from Auntie Anne’s, eating at one of the benches by the food court window.

Gaara and Sasuke were both on the same page; they both wore dark clothing, listened to music that would make an emotionally stable person flinch, and didn’t enjoy talking that much. It made them work well together, sharing an intolerance for other people’s bullshit. It also made them friends, which was something Sasuke hadn’t intended when he got the job.

When Sasuke had begun senior year, his brother announced he was no longer giving him money for his outings with Gaara, or his weed, so that prompted Sasuke applying at Newbury Comics. It seemed like the only feasible option for him, considering he grimaced at the thought of working at a restaurant or drive-thru, and the lifeguard positions for the town pool had been taken by Sakura and Ino. Now there were only a few short summer months left before he headed off to college, so he needed all the shifts and money he could get.

At the beginning of June, Sasuke’s quiet plan of building up his savings before heading off to college was disrupted. It started with something as simple as the opening of a new burrito shop in the center of the food court. Maybe “stand” was a more appropriate word. Sasuke hadn’t seen it yet, but he had heard about it from other customers when it opened.

Gaara heard the chatter about the burrito stand and turned to Sasuke as he rearranged the Funko Pop shelf.

“Just letting you know, my friend Naruto works at the burrito stand, so we’ll probably be seeing him a lot. He told me he wanted me to visit him while he’s working. You’ll probably hear him before you see him.” Gaara said, ending with a fond laugh.

Sasuke nodded, unsure of what to say in response. Loud people normally gave him a headache. His name did sound familiar, but whoever he was, he hadn’t met him in high school. Sasuke mainly kept to himself while he was there anyway.

Gaara went back to arranging the figures, and Sasuke turned to add some new books to the shelves in the back. He glanced up at the clock and frowned, tapping his fingers against the shelves with annoyance. His nails, painted black, gleamed in the cheap fluorescent lighting. They both still had a half hour left, and he was starving.

Sasuke and Gaara returned to the register begrudgingly when a herd of freshmen, looking even darker and moodier than Sasuke and Gaara put together, entered the store. Thankfully, they made the time pass quickly as they checked out Gorillaz vinyls and profane pairs of socks. When the last customers shuffled out, Sasuke and Gaara let out a sigh of relief, and headed to the food court.

The sun was dipping low, its orange light spilling through the windows and bouncing across the stands and benches. Gaara looked about and turned to the center, where the new burrito stand was. There was a blonde working there, and a silver haired man sitting in a chair beside him, reading a book with his leg crossed. 

The blonde turned and grinned as he recognized Gaara, and as they moved closer Sasuke felt something in him twist. His skin was completely tanned despite it being only June, and the headband keeping his unruly blonde hair out of his face was slipping into his blue eyes. Sasuke couldn’t even describe the shade of blue they were; they didn’t resemble ice or the ocean...they reminded him of something warm. He felt his face grow hot as he smiled at the both of them, putting down the tortilla he held in his gloved hands.

“Hey Gaara! Glad you could come see me hard at work!” Naruto greeted, beaming as he showed the burrito he was preparing.

The man sitting in the chair beside the stand looked up from his book, his tired eyes gleaming a little at that.

“If ‘hard at work’ means getting distracted enough to drop a whole bag of rice on the floor, then you’re right.” He said humorously, turning back to his reading.

“Ah, Kakashi...you don’t let a thing slip do you?” Naruto whined, looking a bit embarrassed.

“That’s what a manager has to do.” Kakashi stated casually, half-listening now as he turned a page.

Naruto glanced at the rice that had been replaced after he spilled a great deal of it with a small frown, but then looked up again, perking up as he noticed Sasuke standing there.

“Oh! Gaara, who’s your friend?” Naruto asked, giving Sasuke a smile that rivalled the sun pouring through the food court.

Sasuke tried not to fidget, trying to look interested in the pizza shop a few feet away.

“This is Sasuke,” Gaara said with a slight grin. “He works at the store with me.”    
  
“Oh cool! Well, it’s nice to meet ya!” Naruto replied, putting a hand behind his head, not realizing he had remnants of refried beans on his gloved fingers. 

He cursed as he shook beans from his hair, and Gaara and Sasuke couldn’t help but chuckle. 

Gaara turned to Sasuke.

“See? He may be a bit much, but he’s probably the nicest person I know.” Gaara said softly.

As Naruto laughed at the look of horror Kakashi sent his way as he watched him pull beans from his hair, Sasuke felt his chest tighten and cheeks warm.

“He’s...fine.” Sasuke replied after a moment, putting his hands in his pocket before he let himself slip. 

Gaara seemed satisfied with that answer, and the two ordered burritos to feed their after-work hunger.

Naruto made the burritos relatively quick, proud as Gaara noted how fast he made them.

“That’s nothing, you should see how fast I make ramen!” 

“Well, there  _ was _ that time you nearly blew up Lee’s microwave…” Gaara pointed out.

Naruto looked embarrassed again, his eyes flicking to Sasuke as if the fact was mortifying for him to hear. 

“It’s not my fault your boyfriend has such a complicated microwave!” Naruto hissed in protest, Gaara simply shrugging in response.

After Gaara consoled Naruto’s feelings, Naruto placed the burritos in small bags and gave the two their food. Naruto gave Gaara his, and passed Sasuke his over the glass.

As Naruto passed it to him, he gave him a genuine smile, perhaps even brighter than the others. Maybe Sasuke was imagining that.

“Here ya go! I promise I didn’t use the messed up rice.” Naruto said, his fingers grazing Sasuke’s as he passed him the burrito.

Sasuke felt his fingers jolt, but he ignored that and managed to get some words out.

“Thanks. For the burrito; and for not using the messed up rice.” 

Gaara and Sasuke headed to their normal bench to let him work, and as Sasuke ate and listened to Gaara’s occasional chatter, he couldn’t help but let a smile slide onto his face.

Sasuke had originally planned to stay under the radar and finish up his summer with enough cash in his pocket, but now he had something else to think about. Or rather, someone else to think about. 


	2. disappointed?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> chapter 2 time!!! sasuke's trying his best with emotions...and socializing.

Now that Sasuke had met Naruto, he had yet another reason to look forward to getting out of work, besides escaping complete boredom. He felt his wallet hurt a little each time he returned to the food court, but this was the only way he could see him without having to put any social effort in. He wasn’t ready for that yet. It was enough for him to see Naruto’s tanned face and smile after work, making him feel warm before he even bit into his burrito. Sasuke was willing to keep this dynamic going for as long as possible. Until he couldn’t. 

One day, their shift ran longer than usual, when a few younger kids trailing behind their parents knocked down a few good rows of clothing and books. The parents apologized more than was necessary, but that didn’t keep Sasuke and Gaara from cleaning until Naruto was done with his shift.

As they both headed out to leave after they finally finished for the day, Gaara pulled out his phone.

“I’m supposed to meet Lee in a little bit, so no burritos for me today.” Gaara said, sending him a quick text before slipping his phone back into his pocket.

Sasuke nodded.

“That’s cool, I should probably head home anyway.”  
  
Gaara looked towards the food court and gave him a look.

“I don’t know about that. I think Naruto would be pretty disappointed.”  
  
Sasuke felt dumbfounded at that. Before he could ask what _that_ meant, Gaara turned towards the escalator and headed towards the parking lot, calling out his goodbye as he left.

Sasuke stood there, deliberating. He could go to his car and drive home, but something in him wanted to keep him in the food court. He was probably gone now, though. The food court was closing soon. Sasuke turned to leave, when he heard someone call his name.  
  
“Sasuke!” Naruto called, taking off his headband and walking towards him, exiting the food court.

Sasuke stopped and let him catch up with him.

“What’s up? Not in the mood for burritos today?” Naruto asked.

Sasuke shrugged as they both headed towards the escalator.

“Some kids knocked down some clothes and books, so Gaara and I stayed to clean it up.” Sasuke explained.

“Shit; do you have to handle stuff like that a lot?” Naruto asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Not really. It’s normally pretty calm in the store, except for when the middle schoolers come.” Sasuke replied, cringing slightly, making Naruto chuckle.

“I _was_ going to work in a store, but Kakashi’s my dad’s boyfriend, so he kinda helped me get the job. Anyway, I don’t think I’d be able to work in a store.” Naruto stated.

“Why’s that?”

“I’d get too distracted by the things in the store...and I probably wouldn’t be able to answer the customers’ questions. I think I should stick to making food.”  
  
Sasuke thought about this for a moment, both of them descending on the escalator, the sky growing darker outside of the mall windows.

“I think you handle the customers at the burrito stand pretty well. You helped out that girl with allergies.” Sasuke pointed out, recalling when Naruto was able to accommodate the girl’s needs a few days before.

Naruto blinked, and then looked bashful.

“That was nothing,” Naruto insisted, waving his hand as his cheeks reddened. “I just swapped around some ingredients and gave her a different kind of tortilla.”  
  
“Well, to someone who can only cook a grilled cheese sandwich, that’s pretty impressive.” 

Naruto let out a gasp.

“You can only cook a grilled cheese sandwich?” Naruto asked, looking aghast.

Sasuke shrugged again. 

“Iruka and I, he’s my dad, cook all the time! We cook every night...which is probably why I always forgot to do my homework.” Naruto admitted.

“I always just got take-out with my brother or something.” Sasuke replied, smiling a little as he imagined Naruto cooking with his dad.

The two of them reached the parking lot a few minutes later, now engrossed in a debate on which take-out place in Konoha was better. Sasuke was about to defend his favorite place when they reached Naruto’s car. Sasuke’s was at the other side of the lot.

“I should probably head home before my dad starts wondering where I am. Tonight’s our movie night...which isn’t as lame as it seems!” Naruto said quickly. 

Sasuke smiled (when did he ever smile this much?) and nodded.

“That’s alright. I should probably head home too. It was nice talking to you though.”

“It was!” Naruto agreed, fiddling with his keys. “But we should go out to eat sometime, and maybe settle the debate on which place is better.” 

“I’d like that.” 

Looking relieved at that answer, Naruto opened the door and slid into the driver’s seat.

“See ya later then, Sasuke!” Naruto said, closing the door after flashing a smile and pulling out of his space.

Sasuke watched him drive off, the sun nearly gone now as his car turned down the street. Sasuke walked back to his car, his head feeling light the entire drive back. His mind drifted back to what Gaara had said earlier. _I think Naruto would be pretty disappointed._ Had Naruto said something about him to Gaara? He felt the urge to text him about it, but he didn’t want to bother him while he was with Lee. He’d just have to wait until the next shift.

When Sasuke came home, the stupid grin that had become glued to his face still there as he opened the door and breezed into the kitchen to grab a snack. He tossed his keys on the counter, and his brother Itachi poked his head out of his room. 

“What’s got you so happy?” Itachi asked, taking a chip from the bag Sasuke pulled out of the cabinet.

“Something that happened at work.” Sasuke replied, unable to shake his smile as his conversation with Naruto drifted back into his mind.

Itachi didn’t look convinced in the slightest at this, but, satisfied with his brother being happy, decided not to question him further. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't forget to leave a comment! for my self-esteem;;;;;


	3. contact picture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoa! me updating somewhat regularly? guess the sns brainrot i've got going on is pretty good motivation for writing.

“Sasuke, you’ve been glaring at that Rick and Morty magnet for ten minutes. Do you want me to move it?”

Sasuke blinked, straightening as he saw Gaara giving him a concerned frown. 

“Sorry.” Sasuke said, trying to shake out of his haze. 

“What’s up?” Gaara asked, fiddling with the display of keychains on the counter to make it look like he was working. 

“Naruto’s just been really cozy with the girls at the burrito stand today. I can hear them giggling from here.” Sasuke stated, trying to sound casual, but his words came out more like a complaint. 

Gaara nodded, moving to peek his head out of the store’s door to try to get a peek. 

“Well Sasuke, that’s just how Naruto is with people. Or, that’s how people are with Naruto. He’s just got something about him.” Gaara explained. 

Sasuke tried to accept this, but he heard Naruto’s laughter echo from the food court, accompanied with high-pitched giggles. He wanted to stomp over there and see what was so funny. He opted for angrily sulking instead. 

His sulking carried on when he was dealing with customers too, which obviously unsettled them more than anything. The intensity of his glower was enough to keep customers from approaching him altogether, with Gaara having to deal with them instead. Sasuke just couldn’t get rid of the bitter knot in his stomach. He could even feel lines between his eyebrows from how much he had frowned, but he simply couldn’t help it.

A few painstaking hours later, when their shift was over, Sasuke began to stalk towards the escalator in a huff to drive home. Just as he reached the escalator, Gaara grabbed him by the shirt sleeve.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Gaara asked.

“Home.” Sasuke replied, earning him an eye roll from Gaara.

“You did not just pout about Naruto the whole shift just to leave right after. I did not handle all of those Karen’s and Jared’s today just to let you get off easy.” Gaara said, leaving Sasuke no choice as he turned him towards the food court and nudged him with his foot. 

Sasuke couldn’t even protest, because there was a part of him that wanted to see Naruto despite his sour feelings. Stubbornness aside, he begrudgingly trudged off to the food court.  
  
Kakashi wasn’t there, which might explain why Naruto was giggling with other customers for so long that day. Naruto stared down at the burrito he was making, his eyebrows creased cutely in concentration as he carefully folded the tortilla, wrapped it in paper, and handed it to the patient customer. As the customer began to leave and he said his goodbye, Naruto looked up and saw Sasuke, visibly brightening.

“Sasuke!” Naruto said, gleaming as Sasuke headed over, making the frown Sasuke had donned all day fade a little. 

“Yo,” Sasuke replied, fiddling with his pockets.

“Boy, you would not believe how busy it was today. I don’t know what it is; guess Wednesday’s a popular day for burritos.” Naruto joked, putting on a new pair of gloves.

“Yeah, it seemed popular. I could hear you laughing in the store.” Sasuke stated.

“Ah, Sakura and Ino were just visiting me. They were fussing over who should pay for the burritos since they were on a date. And they wouldn’t stop teasing me because of this hairband.” Naruto laughed, pointing at the band keeping his unruly blonde hair from covering his eyes.

Sasuke smiled, feeling incredibly stupid. So he had been jealous for nothing. Was he really that needy? And why did he care so much if he was laughing with a bunch of girls?

“I don’t see anything wrong with the hairband.” Sasuke said.

Naruto felt his cheeks redden at that, but thankfully he was tan enough that it wasn’t noticeable. 

“Thanks. So, do you want to get something to eat this week? To settle our restaurant debate?” Naruto asked, his voice growing a bit quieter at the end.

“I don’t have work on Friday.” Sasuke stated, knowing that work was the only thing that could clog up his schedule.

“Great! I don’t have work then either! I’ll pick you up and we can drive somewhere to eat.”

Sasuke felt whatever gloomy feelings he had earlier wash away completely. 

“I’ll give you my address, then.” Sasuke said.

“Do you think you could text it to me? I probably won’t remember by Saturday if you tell me now.” Naruto asked, a bit bashfully.

Sasuke obliged, and pulled out his phone, adding Naruto’s phone number into his contacts. Sasuke went to put his phone back in his jeans, feeling light.

“Wait! You need to take my picture.”

Sasuke frowned.  
  
“What for?”  
  
“For the contact picture! It’s no fun to have a blank contact picture.” Naruto explained.  
"I have contact pictures for all of my friends.”  
  
Sasuke relented, trying not to be disappointed at the word “friends.” Sasuke stepped back and held out his phone, watching as Naruto got into a dumb pose, winking and holding up a burrito with pride. Sasuke chuckled a little.

“Alright. Your turn!” Naruto said, looking about the food court for a moment to make sure Kakashi wouldn’t spy him on his phone.

Sasuke didn’t really know what to do for the picture, but Naruto seemed to be happy with the image of Sasuke standing with his hands in his jean pockets, his small smile adorably awkward. 

“Alright, I’ll let you get back to work. I’ll text you my address, and you can choose the place we get to eat.” Sasuke said, giving Naruto a bigger smile as he turned to leave.  
  
“Okay! And don’t worry, the place I pick will be great!” Naruto said confidently, humming to himself long after Sasuke drove home.

He even patted himself on the back a little; he managed to get Sasuke’s number! As smoothly as possible, he might add.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> naruto is smooth ;) but he's still naruto.


End file.
